The Proper Way to Rescue Hostages

Yuga never expected that, by pure luck, he'd stumble into the Nihilego tribe's storage area for Pokémon eggs. Hundreds of gray-white eggs were scattered densely among the pile of rocks.

Seeing these eggs, an idea suddenly formed in Yuga's mind.

There were currently two major difficulties in rescuing Luna and the others from the Nihilego tribe: first, their numbers and strength far exceeded his, making a frontal assault impractical; second, they held hostages, which prevented him from fully unleashing his full abilities.

Since the opposing side had hostages, if he could also get "hostages," all his problems could be solved. And these Pokémon eggs before him would make the perfect "hostages"! Yuga thought to himself.

One or two Nihilego as hostages might not matter to the tribe, but if all their eggs were suddenly missing, the tribe would face a severe drop in population, possibly even extinction. They would have no choice but to negotiate!

The Ultra Beasts found it more challenging to reproduce than ordinary Pokémon. Without these eggs, no new members would be born in their tribe for a long time.

However, taking all the eggs posed some difficulty since two Nihilego were standing guard. The problem now was how to take them without alerting the rest of the tribe — especially given that every Nihilego was an Elite-level.

After considering a moment, Yuga decided to send Chimecho out as a distraction. With its Teleport, Chimecho could act as bait without fear of getting caught.

The Nihilego tribe didn't have moves like Block, Mean Look, or Imprison to prevent an opponent's escape.

After discussing the bait plan with Chimecho, Yuga warned it, "Be careful and don't get entangled with them. As soon as you've got their attention, make a quick getaway."

"Ching-ching!"

Chimecho nodded, then flew out with confidence, head held high.

"Ching, ching-ching…ching, ching-ching…"

It floated before the two resting Nihilego, happily singing, making funny faces, sticking out its tongue… wriggling around in an oddly hilarious way. The two Nihilego were instantly provoked and launched an attack.

Chimecho dodged left and right, effortlessly evading the Nihilego's Power Gems. But instead of fleeing right away, it continued to dance and sing, taunting the two Nihilego even more.

The Nihilego grew increasingly irritated, their attacks intensifying. Once Chimecho felt it had them riled up enough, it turned around and bolted, sticking its tongue out and even spitting in their direction as it ran.

Although Yuga thought Chimecho's antics were cute, the two Nihilego were infuriated, and without a word, they chased after it, soon disappearing from Yuga's sight.

A minute or two later, the noise in the distance grew louder. Yuga guessed that other Nihilego had probably joined the chase after discovering Chimecho's taunts.

As time ticked by, Yuga leaped from the bushes, quickly placing the Pokémon eggs into his system backpack, one after another.

He was so tense that he lost track of how long he'd been at it. When he finally came to his senses, only a few scattered eggs remained on the pile of rocks.

Originally, Yuga intended to take the last few eggs as well, but the approaching noise signaled that the guards were returning, so he had no choice but to leave with Gengar.

Even after he was far from the rock pile, Yuga's heart was still pounding. It had been a long time since he'd experienced something so thrilling like this!

Next, he needed to regroup with Chimecho. Since it had caused such a commotion, it was easy for Yuga to find it. Then, hiding in the shadows, he returned Chimecho to its Poké Ball.

Seeing Chimecho suddenly vanish in a red flash, the Nihilego who are preparing to capture it exchanged confused glances, unsure what had just happened.

Very soon, the disappearance of the Pokémon eggs was discovered, triggering a massive uproar within the Nihilego tribe. At this point, they had no attention left to chase after Yuga and Chimecho.

At this moment, Yuga and Gengar made their way back to the venom pool they had spotted earlier. With the Pokémon eggs missing, there wasn't a single Nihilego in sight around the venom pool.

Looking at the pool brimming with venom, Yuga instructed the system to store all the venom in a section of his system backpack.

Since the system could compartmentalize and isolate items, the venom wouldn't affect anything else inside the backpack.

After collecting all the venom, Yuga discovered that the bottom of the pool was packed with hundreds of Poison Orbs, each emanating a dense purple aura from being nourished by the venom—obviously of high quality!

The Nihilego tribe had painstakingly collected venom to nourish these Poison Orbs, which in turn enhanced the venom's toxicity. A great deal of time and effort had gone into creating this valuable venom pool.

Now Yuga had taken it all at once! The Nihilego tribe would surely go berserk when they discovered this.

Yuga decided that when he got back, he would build a similar pool for himself, filling it with the Poison Orbs and venom, which would be a great boon for Roserade! He could continue collecting various toxic substances to enrich the venom in the pool and enhance the quality of the Poison Orbs.

Gengar might also benefit from the poison fumes in the pool.

After finishing everything, Yuga swaggered into the center of the Nihilego tribe's territory with Cosmoem in tow. The Nihilego standing guard saw Yuga and immediately prepared to attack.

The four Nihilego that was parasitized Luna and the others were also present, as they held the most authority in the Nihilego tribe.

"Hold on! Take a look at this!" Yuga said, as a Pokémon egg appeared out of thin air in his hand. "If you act rashly, I can't guarantee what will happen to this egg." He made a motion as if he were about to drop the egg.

Seeing this, the Nihilego immediately ceased their attacks, glaring at Yuga in anger (although Yuga wasn't sure where their eyes were, he could certainly feel their furious gazes).

At this point, they understood that their tribe's children were entirely in this human's hands.

"Human, what do you want?"

The Nihilego that was parasitized Kaname Hirokawa slowly floated out from the others, and its voice echoed within Yuga's mind.

Telepathy? Yuga looked at the Nihilego with surprise, realizing that this particular one had the strongest aura among the Nihilego—no doubt, it must be the leader of the group.

"Release the humans you've taken over!" Yuga said directly.

"Fine!" The Nihilego responded decisively. Compared to the survival of its species, it didn't hesitate to abandon smaller gains. "But you need to show some sincerity. Otherwise, if you suddenly escape, we'd have no way to stop you."

It had already witnessed Yuga's teleportation and invisibility abilities, and they indeed had no way to counter them.

"You have a point!" Seeing its straightforward response, Yuga didn't beat around the bush. In the next moment, three more Pokémon eggs appeared in his arms. "Release them, and I'll give you these four eggs for now. Once we're outside, I'll return the rest."

"No deal!" The Nihilego instantly refused. "How do I know you won't deceive us?" Only four eggs in exchange for so many? That wasn't nearly enough.

"Forget it, then!" Yuga replied, quickly putting the eggs back without any sign of worry. "I don't know those people anyway, and I'm only trying to rescue them as a favor. Do as you please." He patted Cosmoem beside him as if ready to teleport away at any moment.

The Nihilego leader was curious about how Yuga managed to hide and retrieve the Pokémon eggs so effortlessly, but it knew this wasn't the time to dwell on such details.

It stared intently at Yuga's nonchalant face, trying to detect any sign of deceit, but Yuga's composure was impeccable.

Finally, the Nihilego leader had no choice but to relent, saying, "Alright, we'll do as you say."

With that, it released Kaname Hirokawa from its possession, and instructed the other three Nihilego to release Luna, Ayashi, and Arata Sena.

Although reluctant, the three Nihilego obeyed their leader's orders, albeit with visible reluctance.

Seeing Luna and the others lying unconscious outside, Yuga summoned Gengar and Mismagius, ready to move them over, but a few Nihilego quickly blocked the way.

"We've released them, but you need to show more sincerity!" the Nihilego leader's voice sounded again.

Yuga stared at the leader for a few moments, then casually replied, "Fine, I'm just that generous!" He took out about ten more Pokémon eggs and set them on the ground.

An exchange was arranged: Gengar and Mismagius moved Luna and the others, while the Nihilego carefully moved the eggs to their side.

After successfully rescuing Luna and the others, Yuga said to the Nihilego leader, "Back off a bit. Once we're out of your territory, I'll return the remaining eggs."

He meant that he would leave the forest under their watch, and once he reached the edge, he'd hand over the rest of the eggs. But the Nihilego couldn't follow him too closely.

"Alright!" The Nihilego leader glanced at the other leading Nihilego and agreed, knowing they were at a disadvantage.

Yuga grinned, instructing Gengar and the others to carry Luna and the rest, and began walking towards the forest's edge.

The Nihilego followed closely, but whenever they moved a bit too near, Yuga would turn and glare at them, forcing them to back off.

Sensing the right moment, Yuga gently tapped Cosmoem. In the next instant, he, along with Gengar, Luna, and the others, vanished, leaving behind a bold, mocking laugh.

"Hahaha… Farewell!"

Seeing Yuga escape in a moment of inattention, the Nihilego were furious, especially their leader, who lashed out in rage, whipping its tentacles wildly and uprooting the surrounding plants and trees.

The Nihilego leader quickly gathered all of its kind, ordering them to leave their territory and capture Yuga, determined to retrieve the egg.

Unfortunately, they couldn't send out every member, as the ravenous Guzzlord outside their territory eyed them hungrily as well.

This time, Cosmoem was exceptionally reliable, it teleporting Yuga and the others dozens of miles outside the Nihilego territory in a single move.

Seeing that they were safe, Yuga let out a long sigh of relief—what a thrill it had been to snatch victory from the jaws of danger.

He hadn't returned all the Pokémon eggs to the Nihilego, not only because he was intrigued by them, but also because he didn't want to give up such valuable leverage.

Although he had found Luna and the others, how to return to the human world was still a mystery. Keeping this leverage over the Nihilego might be useful down the road.

In this Ultra Space, the Kartana tribe he was on friendly terms with had already declined, leaving only the Nihilego and the Guzzlord tribes to balance each other out. Now, with a bargaining chip against the Nihilego, Yuga felt a bit more confident.

He could imagine how furious the Nihilego tribe must be now, but as long as he held on to these eggs, they wouldn't dare act recklessly toward him.

Finding a place to settle down, Yuga checked the condition of the four people. Discovering that they were very weak, he decided to take them to the Kartana territory, which was relatively safer.

Since Cosmoem hadn't paid attention to the direction when teleporting, it took Yuga some time to get back to the Kartana territory, finally arriving there a day later with Luna and the others in tow.

The Kartana were surprised to see Yuga again, especially with four humans alongside him, but they welcomed him warmly.

Thanks to continuous treatment from Chimecho, Luna and the others finally woke up after reaching the Kartana territory.

While they had been possessed by the Nihilego, they could eat under its control, but once freed, Yuga was worried they might starve if they didn't wake soon.

The first one to wake up was Arata Sena, who had the best physical endurance, so he regained consciousness the earliest.

"Am I dreaming? Why is the Gym Leader here?" Arata Sena's memory lingered on the moment he was possessed by the Nihilego. After being parasitized for so long, his consciousness had gradually faded. Had Yuga come any later, it was uncertain if he would've ever woken up.

"You're not dreaming. If I hadn't come, you wouldn't even know where you died," Yuga said with a touch of annoyance.

Arata Sena blinked, finally realizing he wasn't dreaming. Just as he tried to sit up, he collapsed back down, too weak to stay upright.

"You've been possessed by the Nihilego for a long time. Your body's still weak, so just lie down for now," Yuga reassured him.

So the creature that possessed me is called Nihilego! Arata Sena thought silently. Only now did he notice that he and Luna were lying in Florges's grassy terrain!

Thanks to the healing effect of Florges's grassy terrain, which nourished their bodies, Arata Sena was able to wake up this quickly.

Arata Sena was about to speak further when Yuga appeared with a pile of berries held on leaves. "Hungry? Eat something first, and then we'll talk."

Yuga had thoughtfully cut the berries into small pieces, making them easy to eat.